Editorial – Amandla Newshttp://amandlanews.com
Fri, 18 May 2018 01:28:11 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.6The Case of Gayism in Ghana and Africahttp://amandlanews.com/the-case-of-gayism-in-ghana-and-africa/
http://amandlanews.com/the-case-of-gayism-in-ghana-and-africa/#respondFri, 18 May 2018 00:56:39 +0000http://amandlanews.com/?p=5626Ghanaian politicians, clergy, academicians, and other professionals are upset, actually angry and up in arms, about British Prime Minister Theresa May’s offer to help Ghana expunge laws against homosexuality that the colonial government bequeathed to Ghana and Africa, because Britain (and other developed nations) have expunged theirs in the name of human rights!

We would rather define human rights in terms of racism, bigotry, inequality, and injustice meted out to fellow human beings rather than in terms of personal sexual orientation.

If Britain and other countries have normalized sexual orientations, that is their prerogative. Africa is not at war with its own emotions when it comes to the institution of matrimony.

Western countries and the US abolished polygamy and legalized homosexuality, and Africa minded its own business. By culture and religion, Africa has basically been a polygamous society and shunned homosexuality – at least publicly – and we think it is none of the business of any other nation or continent to “neocolonialize” Africa with unnatural tendencies.

There are no bastards in a typical polygamous culture, because every child has and knows his or her father.

On the contrary, lots of children with “absent” wealthy fathers in monogamous societies – who could have been role models for their children – do not have the luxury (at least openly and legally) of their father’s love, comfort, and directions.

They are simply off limits to their wealthy fathers. African culture is at variance with gayism and lesbianism because the cardinal reason of matrimony is to procreate.

What individuals do behind close doors is exclusively their prerogative, but to foist a foreign culture unto Africa in the name of Human Rights defies the African Mind.

In Africa public nudity is not part of the culture, while in some countries people may go nude, especially in parks and at beach fronts.

The next time around, African countries would be urged to pass laws to accept public nudity in the name of human rights. Or even cease to make babies because Europeans’ birthrate is on the decline! Unless and until Africa ceases to be totally dependent on the West, its people will continue to be treated as puppets and subjected to being pushed around.

As much as we deem the offer by the likes of British Prime Minister Theresa May nauseating and an act of interference in the affairs of sovereign nations, it is high time Africa weaned itself off its colonial mentality and tendencies in terms of economics, politics, social, religion, and culture.

It should not have taken Ghanaian politicians, the clergy, academicians, and other professionals well over sixty years to decipher that the socio-political, cultural, and religious practices of Europeans are alien to, and have not been beneficial to Africa.

When Ghanaian lawmakers and legal minds sit in Parliament and in the courts in European suits and attire and utilize the English language as the medium of communication, it creates a sense of unAfricaness.

And by the way, what do Africans want to prove with first (or Christian names, as referred to in Anglophone countries) names like Matilda, George, Elizabeth, or Francis in an African name structure? Cultural dependence!

What happened to African personality and identity?

]]>http://amandlanews.com/the-case-of-gayism-in-ghana-and-africa/feed/0Ghana’s Queenly First Lady……And “Kingly” Presidentshttp://amandlanews.com/ghanas-queenly-first-lady-and-kingly-presidents/
http://amandlanews.com/ghanas-queenly-first-lady-and-kingly-presidents/#respondSat, 17 Feb 2018 01:14:10 +0000http://amandlanews.com/?p=5548Throughout Africa, among the duties of a queen mother is to take care of vulnerable mothers and their children.

Ghana’s current First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, set up her Rebecca Foundation that constructed a $2.5 million Mother and Baby Unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. The unit is named the Nana Afia Serwaa Kobi Ampem II Center, after the late Queen Mother of the Asante kingdom.

The First Lady spearheaded a thoughtful and well-executed fundraising campaign that facilitated completion of the top-notch facility within a five- month period. It is hoped the well-resourced facility will stem the hitherto high rates of maternal and infant mortality at KATH.

Amandla doffs its hat to the gracious and graceful First Lady of Ghana and all those who helped in diverse ways to bring the project to fruition.

That’s a virtue of a queenly First Lady…unparalleled achievement within the first year of her reign!

Some African leaders think of the Presidency as a monarchy. The longest ruling leaders ascended the presidency by default, through armed struggle, or by the ballot.

Once they become presidents, they “adopt” Western democracy and call for elections as enshrined in their country’s constitution. The elections are expectedly rigged to keep them in power. When age and/or term limits lurk around the corner, these absolute power leaders will do everything possible to have their constitutions amended in order to stay in power.

Rather than debasing a working Western system of governance, maybe it’s high time these self-seeking African leaders went back to basics and turn their countries into kingdoms so they could become kings. That way, they would be at liberty to reign till the end of their lives!

]]>http://amandlanews.com/ghanas-queenly-first-lady-and-kingly-presidents/feed/0The legacy of President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwehttp://amandlanews.com/the-legacy-of-president-robert-mugabe-of-zimbabwe/
http://amandlanews.com/the-legacy-of-president-robert-mugabe-of-zimbabwe/#respondTue, 12 Dec 2017 15:24:27 +0000http://amandlanews.com/?p=5501There was once a great empire called Monomotapa, a vast stretch of land that encompassed present day Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and parts of what we know as South Africa. The indigenous of this vast powerful empire were very adept at iron works before Europeans set foot on the empire. Once they arrived, things fell apart. Rhodesia, carved out of the empire and named after Cecil Rhodes, suffered dehumanizing acts under the notorious white leader Ian D. Smith. He vowed to rule Rhodesia for 1000 years. His acts stole the lands of the indigenous and put them into the hands of the white minority.

Then came independence under the freedom fighter Robert Mugabe. Under his leadership, Zimbabwe became a literate country, and achieved other milestones, as he placed the interests of his people first.

The West and America tried as much as possible to economically asphyxiate Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, but he would not bow to pressure and was steadfast in his resolve. Yes, Mugabe ruled for a long time and may be considered a dictator by some, but he stood up to European hegemony and imperialism and challenged the status quo, yanking the lands off of the hands of the white minority and back into the hands of their rightful owners.

Love him or loathe him, Mugabe’s legacy will live on for a long time, after all the independence of Zimbabwe cannot be mentioned without associating his name with it. That in itself, is a legacy!

ON Saturday, October 7, 2017, a gas explosion hit a part of Accra and claimed seven lives. Three died immediately while four died on admission in hospital. Many others are still in hospital receiving treatment from burns and other related injuries.

One thing most noticeable in Ghana’s capital and most urban towns are gasoline stations and liquefied natural gas (lng) depots.

On a stretch of one mile in Accra as many as six such installations can be found. They are sited indiscriminately, an indication of a break-down in discipline as well as institutional failure. Town planning and environmental laws are all flouted with impunity.

The former minister of Environment Mahama Ayariga in an interview stated that efforts to regulate the siting of gasoline stations were thwarted by big men in government. It was an admission that those in authority are themselves part of the problem making any solutions hard to attain. This happens in all areas of endeavor and the repercussions are vast and heinous.

Amandla investigated the case of a gasoline station sited between two dwelling houses and a food processing factory that went nowhere. Not even the representations to the sector minister and the Environmental Protections Agency were heeded.

A similar explosion at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle a couple of years ago that resulted in the death of more than 200 people obviously did not register as something to learn from. Once bitten, twice shy, they say. We mourn with the families who lost loved ones and hope measures and regulations available would be observed and measures taken this time would either prevent or minimize those occurrences. We appreciate the government’s efforts at root- ing out corruption and indiscipline at all levels and hope Ghanaians would rally behind it.

As the president used to say in his campaigns, Amandla believes “Ghana will work again.”

]]>http://amandlanews.com/indiscipline-the-bane-of-a-nations-development/feed/0The man called Peter John Amewuhttp://amandlanews.com/the-man-called-peter-john-amewu/
http://amandlanews.com/the-man-called-peter-john-amewu/#respondSun, 18 Jun 2017 12:14:17 +0000http://amandlanews.com/?p=5323Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Peter John Amewu was not so named for nothing (we don’t know the meaning of his other two non-African names). He is worthy of and “more than” his name if indications of job deliverability are anything to go by. Appointed as Ghana’s Minister of Lands and Mineral Resources , Mr. Amenu has been confronting the menace of galamsey and its debilitating effects on the environment, especially by non-Ghanaians. The man has been relentless, fearless, and uncompromising in his attempt to uproot galamsey (illegal mining) and thus fulfill one of the cardinal promises the ruling party campaigned on. Be it the Chinese Embassy and its citizens, Russian and Ukrainian illegal miners or powerful military and political leaders, he has thus far shown that no one pulls his tail with impunity.

It is gratifying and reassuring to hear the young Minister speak about foreigners from China, Ukraine, India, Togo, or Burkina Faso who dared not practice galamsey in their own countries, let alone allow non-natives to do same in their countries of origin. Unlike the former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister Joseph Yamin who claimed he lost his job fighting galamsey in the former Mahama government, Amandla believes in the principled, disciplined, and committed leadership of Nana Addo and so the Hon. Minister and his assigns have nothing to fear. We also know that, no one, not even powerful political, security personnel, traditional leaders or the very wealthy can arm-twist the President to relent or ease pressure to stem galamsey.

In retrospect, we expect all involved in the diabolical activities to be fully held accountable and pay for the cost of environment reclamation. We are very much convinced that there are more John Peter Amewus in the Akufo – Addo government who would correct and straighten up the ills in society facilitated by the corrupt and crooked previous NDC government. Meanwhile Amandla has chalked one “deliverer” down, and will prick our ears, agitate our noses, and open our eyes for other “savior” of Ghana in order to reposition the country back on a path of success.

In our March issue, we ran a front page article on malfeasance we discovered at the Ghana Mission/Consulate in New York City regarding the issue of visas to Ghana. We sent a note to the Mission for its response and reaction to the allegation, but we never heard anything, and we went to press with the story. For some reason and for reasons best known to someone within the Ghana Mission, all the newspapers that carried the news went missing as soon as they were delivered on the afternoon of March 15. There was no rush to pick them up, but were removed. We’ve been in the business for too long to know the pick-up rate at any given location. Someone must have decided the front page piece was not in their interest and ‘hi- jacked’ or thrashed the copies. Incidentally, that was not the first time we wrote an exposé about the Mission.

Sometime ago when the building was infested with rats, we wrote a front page article about it. We got a cold shoulder from some individuals and lost a few friends then, but even at that time nobody tampered with the papers. Why now? It is shallow criminal thinking to remove the paper while the majority is distributed in all five boroughs and elsewhere in the metro area. It is disheartening that while the new administration is working to stem the mounting corruption in the country, some here who are supposed to hold high the mantle of discipline are working hard to reverse the trend. Even as they are removing Amandla from the Mission for fear of being exposed, they have not relented. We know that $100 Money Orders have been peddled at the Mission to visa applicants with a $10.00 surcharge. We are not sure this is legal or official and would suggest an investigation to stem the negative impact on the Mission and Ghana.

Foreign missions in Ghana, including the U.S. Ambassador complain about the ripple effects of corruption and how businesses from their countries are unwilling to go and invest there. This must sound a note of caution to those who have decided to truncate the efforts made by the government at home. We would suggest a full-scale investigation of the Mission before things get out of hand. At age 60 the only reputation Ghana has been able to acquire is corruption but it must end now.

Opposition elements in Ghana are complaining that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo failed to accomplish the expectations of his compatriots in his State of the Nation Address in late February. The president, as a matter of fact, did just that: he described the state of the nation to Ghanaians. But the opposition wanted more: they wanted the presi- dent to read them a budget statement that is contrary to what the constitution demands of him in the state of the nation. President Akufo-Addo said, “Mr. Speaker, to give a fair account of the state of our nation, I have to give an account of the state of our economy, of our governance and of our national culture and attitudes. This account will highlight some of the fundamental elements of the situation, and will not pretend to be a detailed, sectoral analysis of our condition. I leave that to the budget statement, to be delivered in ten days time.”

The president gave accounts of various sectors including economy, education, agriculture and health as inherited from the John Mahama-led administration and also outlined his vision for the development of the country for the next fiscal year. He said that the economy has declined considerably with only a 3.6 percent growth, the lowest in 23 years.

He reiterated his government’s commitment to reducing the public debt stock, introducing the free Senior High School initiative, ensur- ing the growth of the agricultural sector and transforming the country into an industrialized state. He assured Ghanaians that some ongoing projects would be finished by the end of this year.

He expressed his desire to cooperate with all state institutions to ensure the development of the country and to establish Ghana as an example on the continent.

The new Akufo Addo administration has hit the ground running with the creation of 36 ministers that manifests the NPP’s campaign promise. By the time of going to press the president had sworn in 12 ministers.

The minority NDC, as usual, is already raising red flags over some of the ministers and ministries calling them jobs for the boys and irrelevant. Some ministries are seen as overlapping but the president considers them as strategic for the economy he envisions for the country and therefore need to be separated. For instance, the ministries of aviation and railways have been separated from the ministry of transportation. Nana Addo explains that such changes would bring efficiency in the delivery of the executive, as well as enable his government to fulfill its mandate and the pledges timeously.

Amandla appreciates the philosophy embedded in President Akufo Addo’s thinking and shares the underlying vision. It seems, however, that the president is overlooking a significant constituency: the Ghanaian Diaspora. The first NPP administration under President J. A. Kufuor enacted the Representation of the People’s Act, (ROPA) that sought to enable the Ghanaian abroad to vote wherever they were but the law was moribund. That notwithstanding, Ghanaians abroad have flown home to cast their votes in elections, including the recent one that attracted a good number of them.

We should be reminded by the Jewish Diaspora and its contribution to Israel’s survival in a turbulent region. India, among other Asian countries also has a robust expatriate community and has a dedicated ministry for it. The Ghanaian Diaspora continues to be a vital and growing resource to the national economy and must not be ignored. They must be involved in the development process in as much as they deserve to be given a dedicated ministry, department or agency, and we believe if anyone can do it, it is the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo.

It is never a bad feeling to know you are being appreciated by your own.

Further to the engagement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the quondam NDC government, to help infuse credibility in the Ghanaian economy, the employment of a cate- gory of workers was stanched. Recruitment into the civil service, education service and the health care delivery services had to be sus- pended as per IMF stipulations. In spite of the embargo placed on employment by the IMF President Mahama before his departure appointed and recruited into the various min- istries, departments and agencies. But was it in good faith?

Presidents have been known to make appointments to certain important positions and what is happening in Ghana under Mahama is not strange. President J.A. Kufuor made similar appointments in 2008 before he left office, increased salaries and left behind a single spine payment system for which no money was made available. After handover, the late President Mills dismissed some 400 recruits in the armed forces because according to the government, the recruits were suspected NPP elements being awarded with those jobs.

We believe that in much the same vein President Akufo Addo could on economic grounds decide to truncate the recruitments as President Mills did in 2008. After all what is good for the goose is good for the gander. According to legal minds, only the so-called Article 71 appointments cannot be rejected.

President Mahama’s action smells more of mischief or even payback. Amandla believes that growth and development goes with maturity. Democracy and competitive politics sometimes spawn bitterness and even hate. For this and other reasons, Parliaments must take a critical look and take a cue from Australia where no appointments could be made by a sitting President six months prior to elections.

Ghanaians deserve better. Elections are either won or lost and President Mahama’s gracious concession speech nailed the higher level of maturity Ghana’s democracy has reached. Democratic governance is highly competitive but not an exercise in pugilism.

Elections are dicey. Gifting or vote-buying or anything that seeks to influence voters does not win elections. Essentially, elections are referenda on government. The recent general elections in Ghana clearly spelled out the people’s feelings about the government of the NDC. The voters expressed themselves in a loud and clear manner vocally saying that performance and the interest of the people matter more than anything else. They also said transparency and honesty in government are paramount.

For the first time in the history of the West African nation of Ghana, voters expressed their anger against poor governance. They voted against cronyism and nepotism. They also said in no uncertain terms that in democracies power devolves from the thumbs of the people.

Ghanaians can now say with certainty that they are in control of their own destinies. This time they made their choice genuinely and in good faith. Those who planned and expected violence should bow their heads in shame. Ghana prevailed.

Amandla welcomes Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to the presidency. He is a living example of steadfast love for God and country. He never gave up and persisted. He kept faith in his running mate in the race as long Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia agreed to tag along. And together they made history. Even much more they promised fairness and equity.

The erstwhile NPP administration of John Kufuor set a record to be sustained. The people want to see a revival of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS); free maternal care; school feeding program and a sustained LEAP not vote buying. They want a reduction in fuel and utility prices. They want a stressless existence and more.

And they believe Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia can and will deliver. SALVE!!!